CHINA DAILY ASIA WEEKLY
OF THE PEOPLE, FOR THE PEOPLEIn short, this Chinese independent theater group has emerged as a social and political critique, a cultural platform of diverse senses and sensibilities – all by its own right. The other day Teater Koma performed Sie Jin Kwie Gets Framed at Graha Bhakti Budaya (the old theater hall) in central Jakarta for three weeks in March. The auditorium was full to the brim and the nearby parking lot was chock-a-block with cars. That speaks volume of its surging mass appeal. Read more... |
BALANCING ACT
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao’s visit to Indonesia on April 29, his first since he assumed office in 2003, was a momentous event. He is among the new-generation Chinese leaders who have pulled millions of people out of the depths of poverty, led their country to new heights of economic success, and are achieving a lot more. Moreover, as Premier of his country, which has emerged as the world’s second largest economy, and a potent challenger to the US’ number one position, Wen made commitments of billions of dollars in commercial loans for infrastructure development in Indonesia. Read more... |
CHAMPIONING THE ART OF BATIK
For Carmanita, a renowned Indonesian fashion designer, batik is very special, and essential, too. It runs in her veins.She belongs to a family in Central Java which is deeply rooted in the tradition. Her grandmother, Bintang Sudibyo, better known as Ibu Sud, was not only a Sulawesi-born accomplished music composer, but also a highly respected batik artist. She was particularly famous for her ‘terang bulan’ (moonlight) motif which still exemplifies Soekarno’s (Indonesia’s first president) concept of Indonesian batik. Read more... A CENTER OF CULTURAL COSMOPOLITANISM
Co-written with Andre Vltchek.
For centuries Hoi An in Vietnam has been attracting sailors and travelers wandering, trading and exploring. Read more... AURA OF 'MYSTERY' AND AIR OF JOY
Co-written with Andre Vltchek.
The Landak and The Kapuas. The merger of these two mighty rivers at the tropical city of Pontianak on Kalimantan (Borneo) Island is dramatic. Read more... PASSAGE TO CHINA
Co-written with Andre Vltchek.
A group of people stands in front of a huge replica of a ship – wearing red. They are all Chinese, burning incense just under the bow of the ship and gathering food for the long journey. Read more... THE CITY OF CATS AND MUCH MORE
Co-written with Andre Vltchek. The city of Kuching, capital of Malaysia’s largest state Sarawak, is stunning, elegant, multi-cultural and welcoming. Read more... A BLEND OF CITY AND JUNGLE ADVENTURE
Co-written with Andre Vltchek.
National parks, wetlands, rainforests, wildlife centers, ethnic longhouses, beaches, a grand cultural village, and many things more, make up Sarawak’s charm and loveliness. Read more... LEGACY LOST
CUSTODIAN OF HISTORY
While the first conference of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) catapulted Bandung to global notice in 1955, Indonesians have always recognized it as a city with a difference. Read more... CAUGHT IN A TIME WARP
Co-written with Andre Vltchek.
So what is this secretive, mysterious culture in the middle of over-populated West Java? Near the western slope of Mt Kendeng, the 12,000-strong Baduy tribe lives in 52 villages. Three of these are in the inner circle of Baduy Dalam, an area where no foreigner can enter and no photographs can be taken. Read more... THE OTHER 'FORBIDDEN CITY'
Co-written with Andre Vltchek.
Hue, which boasts Vietnam’s first World Heritage Site — the Complex of Hue Monuments — is both a historical and architectural gem. Built on the banks of the Perfume River, the city was the capital of unified Vietnam in 1802 and also the cultural as well as religious center under the Nguyen dynasty, Vietnam’s last ruling family, until 1945. Read more... CRADLE OF HISTORY
Co-written with Andre Vltchek. ‘For historians, Ayutthaya is the most significant city in the early historical kingdom of Thailand,” says Onanong Thippimol, a historian at Thammasat University, the second-oldest varsity in the Southeast Asian kingdom. “We believe Thailand’s history begins from the Ayutthaya period, although it is not what most Thais believe. This period was the commercial golden age of the Thai kingdom.” Read more... Dismal Harvest
Co-written with Andre Vltchek.
It is not easy to reach the rice terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras although they are just about 350 km away from Manila. After about 84 km on the North Luzon Expressway, a slow mountain road leads to Banaue town, the base to explore the rice terraces. Read more... Seeds of Chinese tillers' wisdom
Co-written with Andre Vltchek. One of the Ifugao Rice Terraces in the Philippines Cordilleras, the Hungduan Rice Terraces, is part of Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS), a project launched by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations in 2002. Read more... |
RISING FROM RUINS
Co-written with Andre Vltchek.
When torrential rain hits the coast of Dili, capital city of Timor-Leste, children and adults run with their rubber sandals or barefoot to the narrow stretch of the beach, some jumping into the sea, others striking footballer’s poses. Boys and girls, adult men and women, all are having a good time, shouting and laughing carelessly. All seems to be jolly. Beachfront in the capital city of Timor-Leste, a tiny republic in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, could easily pass as part of some tropical resort island with no serious historical or social burden. Read more... A COUNTRY OF LIGHT AND SHADE
There is something intrinsically resilient about Indonesia which has throughout its history, seen conflicts, struggles, upheavals and calamities and, yet, withstood them all to stride ahead. Read more... TEXTILE INDUSTRY IN NEED FOR SUCCOR
In February, Indonesia’s Trade Minister Mari Elka Pangestu said exports this year would depend heavily on the prices of principal export commodities such as textiles, footwear, paper and its end products, and processed cocoa products. Read more... HUMAN RESOURCES KEY TO DEVELOPMENT IN INDONESIA
Among other good things, the Masterplan for Acceleration and Expansion of Indonesia Economic Development 2011-2025 (MP3EI in Indonesian abbreviation) details the government’s desire to create a well-educated pool of professionals worthy of its grandiose plans to upgrade its infrastructure and industries. Read more... 'REBEL' WITH A CAUSE
Onno Purbo is a “social enactor and a social innovator”, a man who has come to be known as the most infl uential fi gure in the development of the Internet in Indonesia. His dream is to see all Indonesians become “smarter” and his vision is to empower societies with knowledge through the Internet. Read more... HUAWEI INDONESIA: REACHING FOR NO.1
With its customer-centric innovations, Chinese telecom company HUAWEI has become a force to reckon with in Indonesia. Read more... MUSIC WITHOUT BOUNDARIES
UNITED IN SONG
A Chinese group savors the joy of singing in a country where all things Chinese were once banned. Read more... LOCAL WISDOM SHOWS THE WAY
Co-written with Andre Vltchek. The sound of Baduy women pounding rice grain can be heard from afar when we walk around the village of Kaduketug. It is a sight rarely seen in other rice-producing villages of Indonesia. “There is no hunger here,” says our guide Iwa Sarwan, who was deputed by the local head of government affairs to take us through the Baduy villages. Read more... EAT LIKE ROYALTY
Co-written with Andre Vltchek.
Emperor Gia Long, the first ruler of the Nguyen dynasty, made Hue the national capital of a united Vietnam in 1802, a position that it held until 1945. The city was chosen because it was situated in the geographical center of the country and had easy access to the sea. Read more... HONORING HERITAGE
Co-written with Andre Vltchek. The historical city of Vigan is described by Unesco as “the best preserved example of a planned Spanish colonial town in Asia”. Founded in the 16th century, the city’s architecture combines cultural elements from the Philippines as well as from China and Europe, creating a culture and townscape that is unique in East and Southeast Asia. Read more... The link of trade and friendship
Co-written with Andre Vltchek. Chinese ships had been sailing to the Philippines even before the Spanish conquest of the Ilocos region in 1572. They came in peace, to establish contacts and to trade. Their aim was to seek a fortune and take it back to China. The region was known as Samtoy at that time and famed for its rich gold mines. Some of the Chinese merchants opted to stay and settle down in ancient Vigan. Despite the fact that they were not fairly treated by the Spanish when the latter came to power, the Chinese remained, worked hard, plied their craft and intermarried with the Ilocanos. Read more... Indonesia on the right track
Co-written with Andre Vltchek.
The heavy seasonal rains have brought hardship with them once again to Jakarta. An outdated infrastructure system has left entire neighborhoods in the Indonesian capital under water, with a collapsed transit system offering few options for commuters. Trains strive to run at a reduced capacity and arrive hopelessly late. But in Indonesia’s third-largest city of Bogor, life is less frustrating. Situated around 50 km south of the capital, the city’s mountainous location has managed to avoid the flood-induced chaos of the capital, with trains running smoothly regardless of the rain. Read more... |